Attendance

School Attendance and Punctuality Matters

Regular attendance at school means that your child can make the most of their education and improve their chances in adult life.

School can also help your child’s social skills, such as making and developing friendships. A regular and punctual attendance pattern will help your child when they enter the world of work.

The link between attendance and attainment in school is clear. The more a pupil is in school, the more they increase their opportunity to fulfil their potential.

What does this mean?

As a school, we have a target of 96% attendance.

Attendance for all students is reviewed weekly and where a concern is noted, the individual student is discussed. If the situation continues to be a concern, then the school will take action. The actions will include letters, a request for medical evidence, meeting with parents/ guardians to discuss issues and provide support in resolving them and returning the student to a positive attendance pattern. If absences continue, a referral will be made to the Attendance and Prosecution Service (which is part of the local authority) which works closely with the school’s attendance team. Please see the chart below which shows how many days absence triggers the referral:

Terms

Days

Autumn Half term

3.5 days

Autumn Term

7 days

Spring Half Term

10 days

Easter

12.5 days

Summer Half Term

15.5 days

Summer

19 days

Attendance … something to think about

Attendance over 5 years (Year 7 to Year 11)

85% to 90% attendance = equivalent to about half a year absent from school

80% attendance = equivalent to about a year absent from school

As few as 17 missed days over the school year reduces your chances of success. Your child’s GCSE results could drop by one grade across all subjects.

If your child’s attendance improves by 1% you could see a 5-6% improvement in their attainment.

Punctuality … something to think about

Lateness = Lost learning over a school year

5 minutes late each day

=

3 days lost

10 minutes late each day

=

6.5 days lost

15 minutes late each day

=

10 days lost

20 minutes late each day

=

13 days lost

30 minutes late each day

=

19 days lost

We are confident that we can work together to ensure that your child meets the requirements since it is clear that this will have a positive effect on their learning.